Cubuntu is an open source Live Linux operating system based on the world’s most popular free operating system, Ubuntu Linux. It is built around the Unity desktop environment and supports only the 64-bit architecture. In addition to Unity, Cubuntu includes the Cinnamon desktop environment, the Openbox window manager, as well as the GNOME Classic desktop environment (with Compiz and Metacity).

Distributed as a dual-arch Live DVD

Before anything else, we should mention that this project is based on a development version of Ubuntu (14.04 LTS at the moment of writing this article) and it is not suitable for production machines. In addition, the Live DVD supports only the French language, which might be an issue for some people.

Live DVD boot options

The boot menu of the Live CD is much more simplistic than the one found in Ubuntu. However, it presents the usual live mode, install mode, memtest (for testing your computer's memory (RAM)), hd (for booting the operating system that is currently installed), and xforcevesa (for booting the live environment in safe graphics mode). Because it uses the GRUB bootloader, experienced users can easily edit all of the aforementioned boot menu entries by pressing the Tab key on a selection. Even if the Live CD is available in French, the boot menu and the entire installation process is in English.

Offers a pure Ubuntu experience

It offers a pure Ubuntu experience, as no feature has been removed from the original version. Instead, the distribution includes some of the best Linux applications available, making Cubuntu attractive for users who want more from a Linux operating system.

Default applications

The default applications are Google Chrome for web browsing, VLC Media Player for multimedia playback, FileZilla for FTP transfers, Geany IDE (Integrated Development Environment), Skype for chat and video communication, and Synaptic Package Manager for installing, removing and updating packages on your system. Ubuntu Tweak is also there for those of you want to customize various aspects of the distribution, radiotray allows users to listen to online radio stations, and support for Java, Flash and multimedia codecs is provided out-of-the-box.

Bottom line

Unfortunately, there’s no support for choosing a different language during the installation process, and you will end up with a French only Linux operating system. But this can be easily fixed if you install support for other languages through the Synaptic Package Manager application.

Cubuntu was reviewed by Marius Nestor, last updated on February 26th, 2015